Money, money, money

It's somehow delicious that conventions are rescuing my vacation fund. I not only have the reimbursement check for Shore Leave, a surprise check from Torcon showed up, belatedly refunding my registration in return for appearing on panels. Those checks, plus a little bit from my savings that shouldn't be needed for the taxes on Eddie II Giles go a long way towards putting me back where I had been. While I won't be as deep-pocketed as planned, I've gone from just barely having the cash to shelter and eat to being able to spend a little bit for fun as well.

Will have to behave myself in Stratford, though, so I can run free in the Bouchercon dealer's room.

In addition to bragging, I wanted to pass on a great tip that M gave me. I build up the Stratford vacation fund all year through three ways - setting aside anything I ebay/sell to friends, collecting and cashing in my change, but mostly through setting aside a $20 or two every time I hit the ATM. M adds another tip - pick a denomination ($5s or 10s are best) and at the end of the day, take every bill of that denomination out of your wallet and set it aside. She swears you won't believe how fast the pool will grow, while you never really feel the pinch of having that bill out of your wallet.

Me, I'm doing both my old way and this plan with five dollar bills; the new "Stratford Fund" is already started. Because this is the second time I've needed that cash for emergency purposes (two years ago it paid for cat surgery), so I intend to always have a little stash going, Just In Case.

(no subject)

I'm having a burst of girlie-ism, and I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. Every now and then I just get this urge to go be girlie - get manicures, pedicures, style/dye my hair, revamp the wardrobe, etc. (Anyone who knows my usual appearance is probably shrieking "You WHAT???!!!??" right now. Well, usually I just lie down until the urge passes.)

I did try once. I let shayheyred haul me off for a full day of spackling and painting at Elizabeth Arden, and I tried to keep it up for a while... but there's nothing like the killing heat of a DC summer to suck all the makeup off your face in nanoseconds, and the futility got to me after a while and I gave up.

But now... my hair is greying, my summer shoes beat the crap out of my feet, and I don't even want to discuss the photograph of me and my new car. I'm tired of being fat, forty, and frumpy. The first will take some work, the middle one can't be helped... but I'm starting to consider putting some serious effort into fixing the last.

But, she says plaintively... how? I'd like to do something more sustainable than hauling myself across the city to Arden. Who can't fix the wardrobe problems anyway.

(Although speaking of hauling, tonight the treadmill gets cleared off and put to use.)

So, those who know me or who have their own favorite pampering rituals... what to do? (fandance, I'm looking at you in particular...)

(no subject)

Because I am a lemming and because this is Just Too Cute, taken from about 1/3 my f-list:





Click the left button three times, with a short pause in between, that's all I'm sayin'...